


What Baking Can Do

by whatlighttasteslike (waitingforeleven)



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: (quite literally because there's pie), Birthday, Birthday Presents, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Post Season 4, Romantic Fluff, Surprises, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-19
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-17 06:16:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11845674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waitingforeleven/pseuds/whatlighttasteslike
Summary: Despite being held captive in space, Jemma won't let their current situation ruin her plans to make Fitz's 30th birthday one to remember.





	What Baking Can Do

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Team Engineering's Fitz Birthday Project: The Fitz Wish List. For his 30th birthday, our team is granting Fitz 30 wishes. And for the first wish on the list...
> 
>  
> 
> Chocolate Banana Cream Pie
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy! <3 _(title taken from the musical Waitress)_

“Jemma, we’re going to get caught.”

“No, we’re not. I called in a few favors. And it’s not like we’re doing anything scandalous. We’re just going to the rec room.”

She felt a bit silly pulling him along by his arm, making sure he didn’t knock into any walls or stub his toes along the way. It was nearly curfew, so they really shouldn’t be out this late, but Jemma was determined to make the most of the day even with the few moments of freedom they were allowed by their captors.

“Can I at least open my eyes? I’m not going to walk out into space, am I?  

“Hilarious, you are,” she replied. “But not yet,” she added, squeezing his shoulder in encouragement. “We’re almost there.”

When she finally managed to guide him down the rest of the hallway and into the rec room, she positioned him in front of the card table at the center of the room and moved to his side, her hand lingering on his shoulder.

“Okay. Open.”

Hesitantly, he cracked one eye open, and then the other. Jemma watched closely as he took in the sight in front of him – a small cardboard box with a tiny blue ribbon tied on the top.

Fitz gave her a half chuckle. “Why’d you make me close my eyes if the surprise is wrapped?”

“Oh, shut up,” she scolded, nudging him playfully in his side. “It made it more exciting. Just sit, would you?”

“You didn’t have to do this – get me anything,” he said as he pulled out the folding chair on his left for her before sitting down in his own.

“But I wanted to. You didn’t think I’d forgotten, did you?” Pulling her knees up to her chin, she tilted her head to the side with a sweet smile.

“No, I just… I didn’t want to say anything in the small chance you did. And I didn’t want to make a fuss or anything.”

“ _Fitz_ ,” she pleaded, reaching out to grasp his forearm. “You’ve been doing the opposite of making a fuss the entire time we’ve been here. You deserve something special just for you. But don’t get your hopes up. It’s nothing that spectacular.”

“I’m sure whatever it is, it’s brilliant.”

For a moment, she thought of all the things she really wanted to get him for his birthday – a new lab, a trip home. Unfortunately, given the current situation of being nowhere near Earth, none of those ideas were possible. But he didn’t seem to mind. Simply being with each other on his birthday seemed to be enough to lift his spirits. That, and something sweet wouldn’t hurt.

Running her hands through her hair, she let out a short huff. “Alright, I can’t take this anymore. Open it!”

Fitz waited a few seconds, hesitantly looking between Jemma and the small box, but then he seemed to not be able to contain his excitement either. After untying the ribbon, he placed his hands on either side of the box’s top and lifted it up slowly to peek inside. To Jemma’s delight, his eyes lit up and his lip curled into a small smile.

“Happy Birthday,” she said softly. “I know it’s not much, but I just thought…”

“Chocolate banana cream.” Carefully, he took the small pie out of the box and placed it in the middle of the table.

“I know it was sort of the last decent memory we had on Earth, and the last time we had an actual meal together, so it was unfortunate it had to be interrupted. I’m sure the diner’s pie is much better, but I tried.”

Shaking his head, he kept his beaming eyes on the pie. “No, it looks amazing.” He then looked up and tilted his head slightly in her direction. “So, this is why you were being so nice to the cook for the last few weeks. I thought you were going mad.”

“Fitz, only a fool would call what they serve us  _food_. But I figured the supervisors were being better fed, so there were bound to be ingredients of some kind that I could make work.”

“You made this all by yourself?” he inquired as he stuck his finger in the chocolate drizzle topping and took a satisfying taste.

“It’s not the best. Couldn’t really get the crust right, but I didn’t really have much time. It was nice of the cook to let me use the kitchen in the first place.” Fitz was about to dip his finger back into the pie, this time going for the whipped topping, so Jemma frantically reached into her back pocket. “Here. This might help.”

Fitz nodded as she handed him the plastic fork, but then he scooted away from his table and started quickly walking towards the door.

“Wait, where are you going?” Jemma asked as she craned her neck to follow his movements. He didn’t reply and disappeared, but came back a short moment later carrying an additional utensil.

“We need two forks,” he explained, holding it out in front of her.

Jemma waved her hand in front of him. “No, it’s fine. It’s for you, not me.”

“Oh, stop. You went to all this trouble, so you deserve to at least have a taste.”

Looking longingly at the pie and remembering the hours she spent trying to make it as perfect as possible, she sighed reluctantly, knowing he was right. “Alright then.”

Together, they dug their forks deep into the pie and each took a large bite, their eyes widening in sync.

“Wow,” Fitz mumbled as he continued to chew.

“Oh my god. It’s so good,” Jemma agreed. “Much better than I imagined.”

“I don’t care what that diner pie would have tasted like – this is far better.”

Jemma’s smile widened as she watched him enjoy his dessert. “I’m glad you like it.”

They continued to eat in silence, Fitz too preoccupied by his pie to make much of a conversation, so Jemma had to settle with her own thoughts. And as much as she simply wanted to enjoy this moment of him appearing the happiest he’s ever been in ages, she hoped he wasn’t just playing up his emotions just to make her feel better. The last thing she wanted was for him to downplay his own recovery. But the last few weeks, he’d seemed to be progressing in a positive fashion. He was talking more, as Jemma often found him chatting with Mack in the mornings during the short breaks they were given during their shifts. And he always seemed to be in a good mood whenever they retired to their shared bunk at the end of each day.

But she also didn’t know what was going on inside his head.

She knew keeping these thoughts to herself wasn’t helping either of them, so she quietly placed her fork down and leaned in to touch Fitz’s arm. “Are you feeling better?” she asked rather hesitantly.

Fitz hummed without meeting her eyes as he continued to devour his slice of pie. “Yeah, I was bloody starving and this is probably the most edible meal I’ve had in a while.”

Jemma bit her bottom lip. “No, I mean…”

When he looked up, she could tell he understood her meaning as his face fell just slightly. “Oh,” he uttered quietly.  

Shaking her head, she pulled back her hand. “I’m sorry. It’s your birthday. We don’t have to talk about—”

“No, it’s okay.” Shrugging his shoulders, he gave her a slight smile. “It’s probably a better time than any, to be honest.”

“Okay.”

Before continuing, he scooted his chair closer to the table so he could lean closer towards her. “I am feeling better. But I won’t lie to you. I still… I still see things that I want to rip from my memory forever. I think for a moment that I’m getting better, and then the next, all I can think about is that place. And what I did.”

“What  _he_  did.”

Letting out a single huff, he looked down at his hands. “Right.”

“Fitz, it wasn’t you.”

“I know, I know. I tell myself that every day, but it doesn’t make it any easier.” He took a deep breath before meeting her eyes again. “But I think I’m finally starting to believe it.”

“That’s good,” she said encouragingly as she scooted her own chair a bit closer to his. “And it’s not supposed to be easy. What  _it_ …what happened to you was so…I–I can’t even put it into words.”

“You don’t have to.”

Leaning forward, Jemma placed her hand carefully onto his shoulder. “I’m not going to pretend to understand what you’re going through. Only you know that. But you have to know that if there’s anything you need from me, anything at all, you can tell me, okay?”

“I know. I promise.”                                                                             

“You look like you’re feeling a little better. What seems to be helping?”

“You,” he answered without hesitation. “And Mack and Daisy. Just everyone, really. They all seem to be getting on okay.”

“Yeah, I think they are.”

“And sometimes realizing that they’re okay makes it a little easier.”

She moved her hand from his shoulder to his cheek. “You’re always so hard on yourself. And I think you need to remind yourself of how far you’ve come. Remember when you couldn’t even look at me? Look where you are now.”

“Yeah, I know. I have you to thank for that.”

“It’s not just me, though. I’m proud of you – I hope you know that.”

“I do,” he said softly as he pulled her hand down from his cheek, intertwining their fingers. “And thank you. Not just for this, but for…you know. Everything.”

Giving his hand a squeeze, she shrugged. “What else was I gonna do?”

When she noticed a small glimmer in his eyes, Jemma knew he recognized the familiar words. But before she could get lost in his kind eyes, something seemed to shift behind them – like he had something important on his mind. And then he started  _laughing_.

“What is it?” she asked, perplexed by his sudden change in mood.

Still chuckling lightly, he shook his head. “I’m just calculating how much time I have left to plan _your_ birthday surprise.”

“Oh,  _really?_ ” No longer able to stay so far away from him in her own chair, Jemma moved to climb into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.

Fitz welcomed her into his space earnestly and wrapped his arms around her, but managed a glance at his watch. “What is it…21 days and 2 hours now?”

“Well, technically, I was born at 5 a.m., so you have a little bit more time to work with. And it’s not much of a surprise now that I know about it.” As she nuzzled into his neck, she released a content sigh. “But you don’t have to do anything. Just you being here is enough. I mean, I’m not  _opposed_  to the idea…”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Thank you in advance.”

“You’re quite welcome.”

Leaning in at the same moment, their noses brushed gently before they captured each other’s lips in an achingly slow kiss. After a few blissful moments, Jemma pulled back, unable to stifle a chuckle herself.

“What?” Fitz asked,

“You taste like chocolate.”

“Hmm, so do you.”

Glancing over her shoulder, Jemma took a peek at the forgotten pie on the table. As she turned back to Fitz, her face softened. “Would it be absolutely horrible to have another slice?”

“Well, considering we don’t exactly have a place to store it, I reckon we should probably finish it off.”

“ _Fitz_.”

“Wouldn’t want to waste it after all that work.”

“You’re right. But if we get sick, I’m blaming you.”

“Oh, and have to spend an entire day in bed? Sounds absolutely miserable.”

“You’re ridiculous,” she teased as she dove back into the center of the pie with her fork. It tasted wonderful before, but now with the knowledge that Fitz was truly finding his way back to himself, it somehow tasted even sweeter.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! You can find me on tumblr at [whatlighttasteslike](http://whatlighttasteslike.tumblr.com)!


End file.
